Syrian refugees

(Newser) -
Since mid-2014, about 75,000 Syrian refugees have been in limbo in the "berm"—what the Guardian describes as the "no-man's land" at the border between Jordan and Syria. And since June of this year, those refugees have been living in what Doctors Without Borders has...
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Master tailor Ibrahim Haltl Dudu got to work right away on stubborn zipper

(Newser) -
Toronto's Jo Du was stepping into her dress on her wedding day when a small disaster struck—the zipper broke. Bridesmaids fussed over it without any success and so ventured next door to look for tools that might help. It turns out that the neighbors were hosting a refugee...
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The actress visited refugees in Turkey over the weekend

(Newser) -
Lindsay Lohan made an apparently secret visit to meet with Syrian refugees in Turkey over the weekend. TMZ reports the actress stopped by a hospital near Istanbul Sunday. She was accompanied by Abdurrahim Boynukalin, Turkey's youth and sports deputy minister, according the AP . He says Lohan offered to volunteer...
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'We should all be more like Alex,' says Obama

(Newser) -
The image of a Syrian boy covered in blood after an airstrike in Aleppo touched many—including 6-year-old Alex. In a letter to President Obama, Alex asks that the president "please go get" 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh and bring him to his family's home in New York. "We...
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Ironic

(Newser) -
Donald Trump Jr.'s tweet comparing Syrian refugees to Skittles didn't go over well with the public, the candymaker, and now, the UK photographer who took the photo he says Trump stole for his tweet, the BBC reports. David Kittos says he took the pic of the colorful...
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'Skittles are candy. Refugees are people'

(Newser) -
One of the most controversial moments from the campaign trail on Monday came not from either of the major candidates but from Donald Trump Jr. As CNN reports, he shared a tweet that compared the Syrian refugee problem—and the notion that terrorists might be hiding among them—to Skittles....
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Influx from Jordan will get US to its goal this week

(Newser) -
The US will reach its target this week of taking in 10,000 Syrian war refugees in a year-old resettlement program as several hundred Syrians depart from Jordan over 24 hours, the US ambassador to Jordan said Sunday, after meeting families headed to California and Virginia. The resettlement program has...
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Refugee in Germany turned in $55K cash found in wardrobe

(Newser) -
When a Syrian known as Muhannad M. was granted asylum in Germany in October after fleeing violence in Homs, he had to rely on donations to furnish his new apartment in Minden. He just didn't expect someone to give him a wardrobe hiding $55,000. The 25-year-old says he...
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Human rights groups warn the deal will increase the suffering of migrants

(Newser) -
The migrant crisis in Europe will enter a new chapter Sunday after the EU and Turkish government agreed Friday to return all migrants and refugees attempting to enter Europe to Turkey, the Washington Post reports. It adds that the deal essentially "turns Turkey into the region's refugee camp....
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Pool owners in Jordan say future refugees are signing up

(Newser) -
A report in the Syrian Observer illustrates how bleak things are for people hoping to start new lives elsewhere: They're signing up for swimming lessons ahead of the dangerous boat trip. The dispatch collects anecdotal evidence from the operators of three separate sports clubs in Jordan, all of whom...
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But humanitarian groups say Turkey-EU plan would be 'inhumane'

(Newser) -
A possible deal between Turkey and the European Union to handle the ongoing migrant crisis is being hailed as a "breakthrough" by EU leaders after an outline was drafted Tuesday, the AP reports. This "one-for-one" arrangement would mean that in exchange for every migrant in Europe that Turkey...
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The photo of Alan Kurdi's body brought attention to refugee crisis

(Newser) -
Two men were sentenced to jail this week in connection with the drowning deaths of five Syrian migrants, including the 3-year-old subject of an iconic photo that brought the world's attention to the growing refugee crisis, the New York Times reports. The photo, taken in September, showed young Alan...
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Immigration minister says 50K could be brought in by end of year

(Newser) -
Canada's immigration minister said Monday the country has reached a significant milestone with the arrival of 25,000 Syrian refugees. Immigration Minister John McCallum said work continues to integrate the Syrians into the community. McCallum was at Toronto's Pearson airport as the last two government-arranged refugee flights were...
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Ai Weiwei makes statement about Europe's response to refugee crisis

(Newser) -
Some 14,000 life jackets discarded by refugees entering Europe via the Greek island of Lesbos now adorn the six pillars of Berlin's landmark Konzerthaus concert hall. It's the work of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, Quartz reports, who has been a vocal critic of Europe's...
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Turkish woman tried to save boy after 37 drowned

(Newser) -
A witness to the drowning of 37 people , including babies and other young children off Turkey's coast, described the horror and screams in the moments after the boat carrying the migrants slammed into rocks, saying it was like "somebody was being murdered." Gulcan Durdu, whose home is...
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At least 5 children among the dead off Turkish coast

(Newser) -
Dead children are once again washing up on the coast of Turkey. Five children were among at least 39 people killed when a boat carrying people from Syria, Afghanistan, and Myanmar hit rocks and capsized soon after it left the Turkish coast for a short crossing through rough winter waters...
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'We haven't learned anything'

(Newser) -
Anne Frank's stepsister is clearly not a fan of Donald Trump. If he becomes president, "it would be a complete disaster," says Eva Schloss, an Auschwitz survivor and childhood friend of Frank's. Her mother married Frank's father after the war. The reason Schloss' Trump criticism...
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Refugee Refaai Hamo lost wife, daughter in bomb blast

(Newser) -
One of the guests at President Obama's final State of the Union address will be a man that some of his potential Republican successors wouldn't allow into the country. Refaai Hamo, a Syrian refugee who moved to Michigan last month after his tragic story went viral, will sit...
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Sacha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher give money for Syrian refugees

(Newser) -
Sacha Baron Cohen and his wife, Isla Fisher, are putting $1 million on the table to help struggling Syrian refugees, AFP reports. Half will go to Save the Children for kids' measles vaccinations in northern Syria, and half to the International Rescue Committee so that refugees—women and children in...
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He urges world to open its doors to Syrians

(Newser) -
In Britain, the "alternative" Christmas message on Channel 4 has become almost as much of a tradition as the Queen's message, and this year it was delivered by the father of drowned Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi. Abdullah Kurdi also lost his wife and 5-year-old son Galeb when their...
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